Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Position Lifted by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 531,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,240 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $74,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $163.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $171.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.19. The firm has a market cap of $260.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.